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The Changing Nature of Activism Among Sikhs in the UK Today

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The Changing Nature of Activism Among Sikhs in the UK Today The changing nature of activism among Sikhs in the UK today Commission for Countering Extremism Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal and Sunny Hundal August 2019 *Following publication this paper has been amended in line with legal advice. The changing nature of activism amongst Sikhs in the UK today Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal1 and Sunny Hundal2 ABSTRACT The changing nature of activism among Sikhs in the UK, in particular a perceived increase in religiosity among second and third generation Sikhs, is perceived by some as ‘extremism’, especially in foreign media. How much truth is there in such accusations? We provide an analysis of four keys issues giving rise to Sikh activism, thus offering a new insight on a demographic becoming of interest to policymakers and academics globally and nationally. INTRODUCTION The Sikh Dharam (more recently also known by the term, “Sikhi”) is one of the world’s youngest religions. It originated on the Indian subcontinent in the fifteenth century. In the Sikh tradition, the term dharam (this is the Punjabi vernacular rendering of the term, but in the Gurumukhi it is spelled as dharma) has various meanings, including religion, righteousness, duty, virtue, merit, honesty, sect, justice, and faith.i Sikh Dharam was founded by Guru Nanak, a charismatic leader considered a messenger of God, who was born in 1469 CE in the region of Punjab (literally “a land of five rivers”). This region is located in western India in what is now part of Pakistan. The Sikh Dharam has grown into a religion of around twenty million people. In their short and turbulent history, the Sikh people have been key players in many of the major events of Indian history, including the fall of the Mughal Empire, the rise of the Sikh Empire under Ranjit Singh in Punjab, the rise and fall of the British Empire, and the Indian struggle for independence. Over the past century, Sikhs have migrated all over the world in substantial numbers. As a result of this diaspora, Sikhs are to be found in many countries outside India, primarily in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, East Africa, and Malaysia (Jhutti-Johal 2017). Migration to the UK can be traced back to 1854, when Maharaja Duleep Singh, was brought to England after the annexation of the Punjab. Having played a significant role in supporting the allied war effort in both world wars, after the Second World War Sikhs, alongside other South Asians were invited to satisfy the British demand for labour in the late 1940s to assist in the reconstruction efforts after the Second World War, and post-war economic expansion. Some of the migration around this time was also in response to the 1947 Partition of India. 1 Senior Lecturer in Sikh Studies, Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham. 2 Journalist and writer. 2 The majority of Sikhs were from rural Punjab and had traditionally practised agriculture and petty trading. After British immigration laws were tightened in the 1960s, the male Sikhs were joined by their wives, children, parents and other relatives. The presence of the Sikh family in Britain encouraged the purchase of homes, and eventually resulted in the demise of the 'myth of return' (Jhutti-Johal 2017). Today, according to the 2011 Census, there are 432,429 Sikhs throughout the United Kingdom, with the vast majority of them in England alone (England: 420,196, Wales: 2,962, Scotland: 9,055, NI: 216). The highest number of Sikhs can be found in the West Midlands in Birmingham, Sandwell and Wolverhampton, with a slightly smaller number in Coventry and Walsall. They can also be found in large numbers in outer London in Ealing, Hounslow and Hillingdon.3 We write this paper at a critical moment for the western Sikh diaspora. As the small Sikh community (Panth) has grown in maturity, stature and political power, it faces internal conflict and external pressure. In the UK, Sikhs are becoming more assertive about their faith identity while playing a bigger role in wider society. Some say Sikhs are becoming more religious, others maintain there is growing extremism, while many think the community is losing its identity and norms. Regardless of where Sikhs are headed, there are signs of growing tensions. Multiple disruptions of inter-faith marriages at gurdwaras in recent years have been one high-profile example of modernity clashing with a desire for puritanism. Some feel there are growing calls for an independent Sikh homeland, a source of pride for Sikh activists but fear for the government of India, which could lead to Sikh-Hindu tensions at home. Meanwhile, claims of sexual grooming of Sikh girls could spark tensions with British Muslims too. Among Sikhs, there are vast differences over migration journey, origins, educational and social class status, and a diversity in opinions about issues confronting the community. It is this diversity in opinion we will focus on when exploring the following four issues: 1. Growing religiosity? 2. Are there legitimate concerns over around conversion and sexual grooming? 3. British Sikh groups and the far-right: how close? 4. The rise of Hindu nationalism in India and its impact on Sikhs in Britain. 3 For more detail see ‘ONS 2011 Census: Key Statistics for England and Wales, March 2011: The defining characteristics of the population: who we are, how we live and what we do’. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bull etins/2011censuskeystatisticsforenglandandwales/2012-12-11#religion. Information on religion is provided in tables KS209EW (269.5 Kb Excel sheet) and QS210EW (628.5 Kb Excel sheet). 3 We believe this paper covers new ground in raising issues that rarely arise in the media or policy papers. By limiting the scope to these four issues, we were able to explore them in- depth with a range of Sikh perspectives. We also hope it gives non-Sikh readers a better insight into community dynamics. METHODOLOGY This is a qualitative rather than quantitative paper. To address the research questions we employed a multifaceted approach. We conducted a review of relevant published literature on the Sikh community to understand the usefulness and applicability of terms such as ‘extremism’ and ‘fundamentalism’ to certain activity that is taking place within the community in the UK. An analysis of social media4 was undertaken to see how certain activism is articulated on this platform, but most importantly interviews with grass root activists and members of the community who dedicate a significant amount of time on these issues, to understand how they perceived nature of activism. We did not interview political or community leaders, as their voices are already well represented in the political arena and media. There was no way to cover the full spectrum of opinion amongst Sikhs and some well-known activists who were approached declined to speak to us due to fear of a backlash. In total, our sample included twelve respondents, which consisted of five male and seven female British- Sikhs from a range of economic and social backgrounds. We were able to conduct nine interviews in person, three via Skype. We also approached three academics. One academic was interviewed via Skype and the other two submitted responses via email. Participants could express their views anonymously, partly or fully on the record5 (for more information see Appendix 1). 4 References to social media have been hyperlinked into the article. 5 Respondents who wished to remain anonymous are referred to as Kaur 1, 2 or Singh 1, 2 etc. ‘Kaur’ is a Sikh surname for a female and ‘Singh’ is a Sikh surname for a male. 4 1. GROWING RELIGIOSITY? Recently there has been a growing trend of using the internet to propagate the message of Sikhism, not with a view to conversion but to aid understanding of the Sikh faith. One of the most prominent organisations in this field is ‘Basics of Sikhi’, whose founder Jagraj Singh, brother of report author Sunny Hundal, had become the most popular teacher of Sikhi in Britain by the time he died from cancer in 2017. He was also a rare Sikh evangelist who was comfortable explaining the religion to people outside the religion, with many videos attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers. Through his charisma and unique style of delivery, Singh was successful in stimulating religiosity amongst younger Sikhs in the UK and abroad. The example of Singh and his popularity amongst younger Sikhs illustrates a growing trend amongst this demographic of becoming more religiously observant. We explored a number of questions with our respondents to ascertain whether increased religiosity creates tensions with less-observant Sikhs and examine the relationship between growing religiosity and the demand for an independent homeland for Sikhs? We elicited a diversity of views and opinions, most likely due to the non- homogeneous nature of the Sikh community. Sikhs, like other religious group, have followers with varying degrees of religious observance. Today, the level of observance has resulted in the creation of “rankings” or “categories” of Sikhs: those who are principally Khalsa or Amritdhari Sikhs (initiated)6, Keshdhari Sikhs (not initiated), but keep their hair unshorn and wear some of the outward symbols of the Sikh faith (i.e., the turban and Kara), and Sehajdhari/Mona (it is important to note that Mona is a recent term). They cut their hair, but retain an affiliation to the Khalsa and may choose to wear only one of the Five Ks, which is the Kara (steel bangle). Despite the diversity due to observance, there is no separate denomination based on observance, because all, to the most part follow the same edicts and practices. Whilst there is little hard data on the religiosity of Sikhs, most of our respondents felt an increasing number of young Sikhs were becoming more religious and vocal in their religious identity.
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